OFFICIAL TONY AWARDS ELIGIBILITY 2025-26

Part 1: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Awards-Administration-Committee-Meets-to-Determine-Eligibility-for-25-26-Season-20251120

Christine Sherrill will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for their role in Mamma Mia!.

Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken will be considered eligible in the Best Sound Design of a Musical category for their work on  Mamma Mia!. (**Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken eligible in the Best Sound Design of a Musical category for Mamma Mia! because the Tonys had not yet established a category honoring sound design for the original 2002 production)

Will Harrison will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for their role in Punch. 

Leanne Pinder (Movement Director) will be considered eligible in the Best Choreography category for their work on Punch.

Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, and Joshua Henry will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress/Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for their respective roles in Ragtime.

Adam Honoré & Donald Holder (Lighting Design) and 59 Studio (Projection Design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Musical category for their work on Ragtime.

Susannah Flood will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category for their role in Liberation. 

Updated On: 11/20/25 at 04:44 PM

Interesting, Henry is going up against Uranowitz. 

Guess that means Andre de Shields can waltz to his second Tony. 

TexanAddams18 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "Interesting, Henry is going up against Uranowitz.

Guess that means Andre de Shields can waltz to his second Tony."

Surely Deuteronomy is featured. He doesn't even show up till the last song of act 1."

I was thinking that Uranowitz might be petitioned for the featured actor category, as he probably would've given de Shields a very good fight.

Updated On: 11/20/25 at 04:57 PM

EDSOSLO858 said: "Interesting, Henry is going up against Uranowitz.

Guess that means Andre de Shields can waltz to his second Tony."

Unsurprising as Stokes and Friedman were both nominated for best actor in a musical for the original production. 

quizking101 said: "TexanAddams18 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "Interesting, Henry is going up against Uranowitz.

Guess that means Andre de Shields can waltz to his second Tony."

Surely Deuteronomy is featured. He doesn't even show up till the last song of act 1."

I think that’s the inference - Because Uranowitz wasn’t petitioned to Featured, short of another bombshell performance entering that category, Andre de Shields is currently the front runner for Featured Actor/Musical.

Pitting Henry and Uranowitz against each other also increases Nicholas Christopher’s Tony chances for CHESS"

Ah that makes wayyy more sense. I thought OP was saying Henry/Brandon would split the votes making way for shields. 

quizking101 said: "JMH27 said: "So unless we get more musical announcements, we are probably only looking at 4 nominees for Best Leading Actress in a Musical at the Tonys, right?"

It seems so. Right now, we only have Sherrill, Chenoweth, Michele, Levy, Pitts,Sara Chase, and whoever is slated for Lost Boys - you would need at least 2 more to meet the threshold for 5 nominees.

For men, the field looks similar - Tveit, Christopher, Henry, Uranowitz, Tutty, Brightman, Evans, and whatever “Lost Boy” gets a nod"

Call me crazy even we don't have the eligibility status for Chess yet I wouldn't be surprised if Michele and Tveit would be considered for Featured and Christopher is leading...

malcs98 said: "Call me crazy even we don't have the eligibility status for Chess yet I wouldn't be surprised if Michele and Tveit would be considered for Featured and Christopheris leading..."

Okay, you’re crazy.

Eligibility rulings are more or less meant to highlight any deviations from opening night credits that were petitioned by producers. Aaron, Lea, and Nick are all above the title per opening night credits and therefore are all considered leads.

Precedent aside, it would be absolutely bonkers considering CHESS has strong featured work from Bradley Dean, Bryce Pinkham, and Hannah Cruz.

Hey everyone! I’ve been working on something I figured other theatre nerds might love, a Tony Awards tracker that updates throughout the season with all the major races, frontrunners, dark horses, surprise contenders, and category breakdowns.

It’s designed to be super easy to follow, and it updates as new shows open, reviews drop, and buzz shifts. Here is the link: tony-tracker.com

Thank you so much!

quizking101 said: 

Pitting Henry and Uranowitz against each other also increases Nicholas Christopher’s Tony chances for CHESS"

Perhaps.  But as good as Uranowitz is as Tateh— and he’s excellent - the show belongs to coalhouse and Henry is stunning so I wouldn’t expect Uranowitz to pull many votes (and he already has a Tony).  Meanwhile, Henry has  been turning in great performances for years and so given that Ragtime was much better received it’s hard for me to imagine Henry losing. 

DramaTeach said: "IMO, Henry was the better vocalist and Uranowitz gave a better performance. Those I spoke to agreed. I think Henry would still win because he’s been at it a while and hasn’t gottenawardslove, so people feel like it’s his time, but he’s not necessarily the best one on that stage."

I feel the same way. And, I feel the same way about Tviet (better all around performance) and Christopher (better vocals). 🧐

Dreamboy3 said: "quizking101 said:

Pitting Henry and Uranowitz against each other also increases Nicholas Christopher’s Tony chances for CHESS"

Perhaps. But as good as Uranowitz is as Tateh— and he’s excellent - the show belongs to Coalhouse and Henry is stunning so I wouldn’t expect Uranowitz to pull many votes (and he already has a Tony). Meanwhile, Henry has been turning in great performances for years and so given that Ragtime was much better received it’s hard for me to imagine Henry losing."

Plus, many do feel that Stokes likely could've won for Coalhouse in the original production up against his co-star, Friedman, if Alan Cumming in Cabaret wasn't there.

lastmidnights said: "I agree that Henry is the favorite for Leading Actor Musical.

Who do we think is the favorite for Leading Actress Musical? I would vote Levy right now, but I've always loved her performance as Mother. I know some people didn't like it at NYCC, but I don't know what the consensus around her is now"

 

Agreed on both.

New Rulings:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Awards-Committee-Meets-For-Second-Time-To-Determine-Eligibility-For-25-26-Season-20260219

MARJORIE PRIME, OEDIPUS, and BUG are all revivals, with all authors considered eligible for the award.

Everyone in MARJORIE PRIME will be considered Featured (pitting Squibb and Nixon against each other).

CHESS considered for additional categories:

- Danny Strong (New Book) will be considered eligible in the Best Book of a Musical category for their work on Chess.

- David Rockwell (Scenic Designer) and Peter Nigrini(Video Designer) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on Chess.

- Brian Usifer will be considered eligible in the Best Orchestrations category for their work on Chess

 

Updated On: 2/19/26 at 06:40 PM